This week, we share a tribute to Ian Smith, the focus of this month’s Festival of Ian Smith at Summerhall artspace in Edinburgh. Ian co-founded Mischief La Bas.

6 years ago, Friend of Fling Barbara Millar, now an award-winning funeral celebrant, wrote a review of the work of Ian Smith at the launch of The Briggait, the stunning artspace at the heart of Glasgow’s city centre, where Mischief is still based.

Been to a Death Cafe yet? They’re happening all over the UK – indeed all over the world – in different shapes and forms. This week, Friend of Final Fling, Chris Dudzinska, shares how her death cafe type event in York went recently.

There’s a cunning plan afoot to set up Death Cafe London – a permanent home for all things death, chat, support, cake. Death Cafes emerged some years ago now… first inspired by Bernard Crettaz, Jon Underwood picked the idea up in the UK and it has spread like wildfire.

Anyone for tea and sympathy? The Observer asks the question and highlights the work of Death Cafes, Final Fling, the rise of death doulas and the Ideal Death Show – all working to embrace death and dying – the last taboo.

What do you do at a Death Cafe? That’s often the first question folk ask when they hear about Death Cafes. See our natty ’10 Facts About a Death Cafe’ graphic that tells you in simple terms what you do at a Death Cafe.

Friend of Final Fling, Jimmy Stewart, is interested in achieving a good death. He became interested in knowing more about the rules and options around end of life after watching his mum die. He’s one of a growing band of us actively interested in managing our options.

We can all make assumptions about death – even professionals who are working with death day in, day out. I came across a blog by Lizzy Miles, a hospice social worker in Ohio and thought it worth sharing 7 key points to help us improve our understanding of death.

Final Fling’s Death Cafe and Death Meet-ups provide a warm, friendly, safe space to explore thoughts and experiences of life and death.
We ran the first Death Cafe in Scotland in 2013 to mark Dying Matters Awareness Week and ran them for several years each quarter.
We’ve broadened the events out and call them Death Meet-ups

Despite the fact that we all die, some people seem to have difficulty talking about death and dying. Final Fling encourages talking about death and dying. We hold Death Cafes, blog on life and death and chat in social about death and dying. A spirited pragmatic approach.

Final Fling is for people who like to be in control of life and death decisions. Know your options. Make choices. Leave instructions. Stay in charge. Right till the end. And meantime, live life to the full.